COLONIAL HEIGHTS – According to weather forecasts, the Richmond region can expect sleet and icy conditions early Sunday with the potential for small amounts of ice accumulation. Temperatures are expected to rise by mid afternoon Sunday followed by rain throughout most of the region.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews have pretreated I-95 north of the James River, I-295, I-64 and Routes 288 and 195 (Downtown Expressway) with a salt and water brine solution. Additional crews have been on standby since midnight awaiting deployment if pavement temperatures are at or below freezing once precipitation falls. Once wintry weather begins and the brine solution dissipates, crews will apply salt to interstates to melt any frozen precipitation and sand to secondary roads to provide traction.

VDOT recommends drivers limit travel on Sunday if they can. If traveling cannot be avoided, please use the following tips for driving in winter weather:

Charge mobile devices before the storm arrives in case of power loss and emergencies.

If travel is necessary give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination.

Use Virginia’s 511 system to check for road conditions and incidents.

Be aware of potentially icy areas on bridges and overpasses, as those areas freeze first.

Keep a safe distance of at least five seconds behind other vehicles and trucks that are treating the roads.

Treat spreaders as you would emergency-response vehicles. do not follow or pass too closely.

If you encounter a traffic signal out of service, the intersection should be treated as a four-way stop.

If you begin to skid, do not brake. Take your foot off the gas and steer the vehicle in the direction you want to go.

Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.

Connect With Us

Need Help? 800-FOR-ROAD

This website includes hyperlinks to sites neither controlled nor sponsored by VDOT or the Commonwealth of Virginia. Links may open in a new window.
Some resources on this site require the Adobe Reader and Flash Player and the Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel viewers.
If you wish to receive this content in an accessible format per Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (d), please call 800-367-7623.